UN body: Global food prices broadly unchanged in March

<p>By Tuba Sahin</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – World food prices were broadly stable on a monthly basis in March, still hovering around its highest value since August 2018, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed on Thursday.</p> <p>The food price index averaged 167 points last month, slightly up from 166.8 points in February, the FAO said in a statement.</p> <p>On a yearly basis, the March figure was 3.6 percent lower.</p> <p>The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index that tracks monthly changes in international market prices of five major food commodity groups.</p> <p>The jump in dairy prices and somewhat firmer meat values were offset by drops in cereal, vegetable oil and sugar price quotations.</p> <p>The dairy price index surged 6.2 percent or 11.9 points to average at 204.3 points monthly in March, registering a third consecutive rise. </p> <p>&quot;International prices of butter, whole milk powder, and cheese rose, underpinned by increased import demand,&quot; it said.</p> <p>The FAO meat price index rose slightly by 0.4 percent during the same period.</p> <p>The vegetable oil price index last month fell by 4.4 percent from February, mostly reflecting weakening values of palm, soy and rapeseed oils.</p> <p>The data showed that the cereal price index dropped 2.2 percent as wheat prices fell sharply due to large exportable supplies and a slack demand.</p> <p>Last month, the sugar price index went down 2.1 percent from the previous month.</p> <p>&quot;The decline largely reflected bigger harvests in the main producing countries than previously anticipated,&quot; it said. </p>